Conor O'Brien Book Donated to Foynes Yacht Club as €1,000 Raised for RNLI at Presentation Night

20th January 2023

Conor O'Brien's Saoirse departs Dun Laoghaire on her round-the-world voyage

Following Vincent Murphy's presentation on the life of circumnavigator Conor O’Brien at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary last Friday evening, Professor Patrick Frawley, a member of the Club, and a native of Foynes donated an unedited version of one of O’Brien’s books together with a number of first edition books that he had purchased from all over the world.

"We are delighted and honoured to receive these books and can’t thank Patrick enough for this very generous donation", FYC Vice Commodore Patricia McCormack told Afloat.

Bev Lowes, FYC Commodore, The O’Brien Family from Foynes Island, Professor Patrick Frawley, and Patricia McCormack, FYC Vice Commodore

FYC Commodore Bev Lowes thanked everybody for attending on the night and was delighted to see the O’Brien family from Foynes Island among the crowd. He thanked Vincent for his very informative presentation and Patrick for his donation.

€1,045 was raised for the RNLI.

Conor O’Brien was born in Cahermoyle House, Ardagh, Co Limerick, on the 3rd of November 1880 and lived on Foynes Island. He was educated in Winchester College and Oxford University in England, and at Trinity College, Dublin.

He was a heroic sailor with a huge commitment to Irish Home Rule – a fluent Irish Speaker – In 1914, he assisted Erskine Childers in the famous gun-running saga of Irish history, and then went on to circumnavigate the world in an amazing voyage.

After the war, he retired to his sister’s home on Foynes Island, Co Limerick where he lived and continued to write books until his death on the 18th of April 1952.

Published in Conor O'Brien, Shannon Estuary

Published in Conor O'Brien

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About Conor O'Brien, Irish Circumnavigator

In 1923-25, Conor O'Brien became the first amateur skipper to circle the world south of the Great Capes. O'Brien's boat Saoirse was reputedly the first small boat (42-foot, 13 metres long) to sail around the world since Joshua Slocum completed his voyage in the 'Spray' during 1895 to 1898. It is a journey that O' Brien documented in his book Across Three Oceans. O'Brien's voyage began and ended at the Port of Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland, where he lived.

Saoirse, under O'Brien's command and with three crew, was the first yacht to circumnavigate the world by way of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin; and was the first boat flying the Irish tri-colour to enter many of the world's ports and harbours. He ran down his easting in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties between the years 1923 to 1925.

Up until O'Brien's circumnavigation, this route was the preserve of square-rigged grain ships taking part in the grain race from Australia to England via Cape Horn (also known as the clipper route).

At a Glance - Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation

In June 1923, Limerick man Conor O’Brien set off on his yacht, the Saoirse — named after the then newly created Irish Free State — on the two-year voyage from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that was to make him the first Irish amateur to sail around the world.

June 1923 - Saoirse’s arrival in Madeira after her maiden passage out from Dublin Bay

2nd December 1924 - Saoirse crossed the longitude of Cape Horn

June 20th 1925 - O’Brien’s return to Dun Laoghaire Harbour